Vikings’ Young Pass Rusher is Playing with “Bad Intentions”
Minnesota has high hopes for Dallas Turner, the No. 17 selection from the 2024 NFL Draft.
The Vikings’ young pass rusher, 21, is being leaned on to carve out a role for himself early. In all likelihood, Jonathan Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkel are going to be the starting edge rushers, but the first one off the bench should be Turner. To that end, Kevin O’Connell’s recent description of Turner’s “bad intentions” should be understood as a good sign.
The Vikings’ Young Pass Rusher and The “Bad Intentions”
Dallas Turner isn’t a finished product. There’s talent and upside, yes, but still a lot of room to grow. The good news is that Turner has a brain in his head, a strong understanding of the game and some good study habits.
O’Connell was addressing that reality while speaking with the Minnesota media. “You kind of forget sometimes that he’s a rookie,” O’Connell notes. “Just knowing the amount of information, from really Day 1, I think we knew he was smart, we knew he had been coached really well but then you get him here and you get him in the meeting room setting and you see how well he’s handling not only basic installations that most rookies are asked to do but you’re hearing him ask some questions that are very telling about where he’s able go.”
O’Connell goes on to describe him as “unique.”
The conversation shifts from there to the rookie’s smile. In press conferences, Turner comes across as outgoing and charming, so the quip about smiling a lot doesn’t come as much of a surprise. The head coach makes it clear, though, that being an upbeat, positive guy doesn’t mean Turner won’t be a menace on the football field.
“Dallas loves football, so everyday is a new day, he always has a smile on his face,” O’Connell explains, “but it’s not a smile that I would recommend taking as giddy or taking things lightly. It’s a smile that he has bad intentions to do some things on a daily basis.”
Fittingly, O’Connell delivered that description with a smile.
In the world of NFL pass rushers, having bad intentions is a compliment. Sure, he may be a nice guy, but that’s not going to stop him from walloping a quarterback on Sunday.
At Alabama, Dallas Turner put together some excellent production. The 2023 season featured 10 sacks alongside 14.5 tackles for a loss. He tossed on 53 total tackles and then a pair of forced fumbles. The defender has great length and speed, so the thinking is that he’ll be able to adjust to the NFL before too long.
Later on in his answer, Kevin O’Connell spoke about how matching up with Christian Darrisaw was good for Turner since the LT was able to pass along some tips and tricks.
Dallas Turner is carrying a $2,866,702 cap charge into the season. If he fulfills his Year 1 potential, then the allocated cap space will look like a bargain. The expectation is that he’ll be the EDGE3.
His first chance to show what he can do on an NFL field will occur on August 10th when Minnesota takes on the Raiders in the opening preseason game.
Editor’s Note: Information from Sports Reference CFB and Over the Cap helped with this piece.
K. Joudry is the Senior Editor for Vikings Territory and PurplePTSD. He has been covering the Vikings full time since the summer of 2021. He can be found on Twitter and as a co-host for Notes from the North, a humble Vikings podcast.
